For many Kuwaitis, February 28, 1991, was the day a nightmare ended.
Occupying Iraqi forces were retreating from the country, 208 days after Saddam Hussein's invasion.
The maximum you could see in front of you was two metres. It was really tough
But for Sara Akbar, there was no relief. The 33-year-old chemical engineer in the Kuwaiti Oil Company watched the sky turn black as night with smoke as her entire industry burned, and with it, all hopes for Kuwait’s oil-dependent economy, not to mention the environment.
“Personally, we didn’t participate in the celebrations of the liberation,” she says.
“In the last days of the occupation, we ventured out to see our offices burning. So we went to work in our colleague’s home and started to put the plans together.”
An ecological crime
In the history of scorched earth tactics, the destruction of almost 700 oil wells in Kuwait by Saddam’s retreating forces is one of the most notorious.
The disaster began in the run-up to the Coalition ground attack in Kuwait: anticipating a beach landing, Iraqi forces released oil from tankers into the sea and pumped it from storage on land, in order to create a sea of fire.
As much as 11 million barrels would soon wash up on hundreds of kilometres of coastline in the Gulf.
On land, trenches were filled with oil which was then set on fire, a possible attempt to hide Iraqi forces from Coalition air strikes.
In the country’s largest oil field, Greater Burgan, 684 oil wells were blown up with dynamite.
While estimates vary, at least 5 million barrels of oil per day were lost at the peak of the fires, wiping out years of oil revenue worth tens of billions of dollars. Pressure within underground oil reservoirs kept the oil flowing into towering fires that blazed day and night.
"At the time of the Iraqi invasion, I was assigned to the US Navy to assist in certain operations," says Zafer Al Ajami, now a Kuwaiti politics analyst.
"During the time of the oil fires, there were days when the sky would be pitch black at 10am. There would be brief instances where the skies would clear up and the birds would start flying around and chirping, only to be engulfed in darkens shortly after," he says. For Mr Al Ajami, the liberation of his country was accompanied by terrible sights.
"When entered from the south close to Al Ahmedi oil fields, we saw misery, nothing short of an apocalyptic scene."
Firefighters from across the world rushed to Kuwait to deal with the inferno - 16,000 from US company Bechtel alone.
Kuwait's own firefighters also played a leading role, but faced huge obstacles from the start. A major problem was having no place to plan crisis response.
“All the government buildings and hotels and big institutions were on fire. They set all of these on fire and left,” says Ms Akbar.
“The other problem was that the airport was completely damaged, the ports were damaged and the sea was full of sea mines, so no help could come into Kuwait.”
Having worked for a decade across the country’s oil fields, Ms Akbar would later say she knew the energy infrastructure “like the back of her hand”.
“In the oil sector, what we focused on immediately was two things: putting out the fires and putting back production because we needed oil for cars and power plants, which were damaged. Without power and water there is no life, so we needed to do two things in parallel: the fire fighting and at the same time, getting oil production going”.
Planning focused on getting enough data about the blazing oil fields to foreign firefighting specialists, before the Kuwaitis formed their own teams to tackle the fires. Ms Akbar headed a survey team for North Kuwait, where, she says, they assessed that 85 per cent of oil infrastructure had been destroyed.
“We started the fire-fighting operations with the wells on the roads, and close to the city. We went deeper and deeper into the oil fields.”
Venturing further into the inferno, Ms Akbar describes a nightmarish journey.
“For seven months, we had a huge dark cloud that covered Kuwait. But when you went into the fields themselves, it was a different story. It was filled with black smoke and carbon suspended in the air, so the maximum you could see in front of you was two metres. It was really tough, and we were not good at wearing masks to breathe in that air.”
“It was horrible, and after we finished the tasks, the government sent us for a medical check-up to make sure we were OK.”
Many Kuwaitis paid a terrible price.
“In my case, the doctor told me that 87 per cent of my lungs were clear but the rest of it was blocked. He said that my lungs seemed like those of a heavy smoker who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for three years. It took me a few years to clear my lungs,” Ms Akbar says.
“However, for the heavy smokers in our team it took a big toll on their health. One of them died two years ago and the other one had to retire because he couldn’t work again because of his breathing problems.”
Salvation
One by one, the wellhead fires were extinguished, with great effort. One technique involved a Russian contraption nicknamed “Big Wind”, which comprised two MiG-15 jet engines mounted on a tank which blasted the well fires with steam.
"By the 30th of June 1991 we managed to operate two facilities, with 120 wells intact," Ms Akbar says, referring to Kuwait's remaining oil infrastructure out of nearly 1,000 oil wells.
“We could go back to something like 265 thousand barrels a day.”
That amount was a fraction of Kuwait's pre-war production capacity of two million barrels a day.
The last of the well fires was capped on November 6, but parts of Kuwait are still blackened with oil pollution and the clean-up effort continues.
“After the war, we were still worried about emptying out the oil in those lakes, for fear of land mines," says Mr AlAjami, referring to slicks of oil that blotted the landscape. "To this day, when you fly over Kuwait you could see dark spots, the remnants of those oil lakes."
Iraq is paying reparations to Kuwait to this day.
Thirty years later, Ms Akbar is still horrified by the cruelty of the destruction left behind in her country.
“What is sad about this is that it was the largest environmental catastrophe created by mankind, it was a man-induced catastrophe,” she says.
“I hope that the world has learnt its lesson that no one should ever use the environment as a tool for war or destruction.”
The UN later declared the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
“Many people still suffer the results of this environmental crime,” Ms Akbar says.
“But the 6th of November 1991 was definitely a really beautiful day.”
For her efforts during the Kuwait oil fires crisis, Ms Akbar was honoured by the UN Environment Programme in 1993, and went on to become the director of the International Society of Petroleum Engineers. She later became the chief executive of Kuwait Energy, which she co-founded.
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Australia squads
ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
